Fairytale Shifters

Flint

When Forest comes back home, he’s carrying treats from Red’s Goodie Basket. We meet him outside on the porch, and though there is still a little sadness in his eyes, he does look somewhat happy giving us the desserts.

When he opens the carrot cake, the three of us growl at the same time. Shocked, I look to Forest and then to Finn, and they both have the same look on their faces. It’s strange, because I don’t know that I’ve ever eaten carrot cake, but suddenly I want to fight them for it.

“I got all Ruby had. There’s enough to share,” Forest says, and I calm down.

After a second, Finn laughs and shakes his head as he takes a piece. “Who would have thought we’d be this protective over a piece of cake?”

He pauses before he takes a bite, then moans at the flavor. We all do the same, and I have to admit that the sheriff in town is a lucky man. His mate knows how to bake.

After I polish off four pieces, I notice the paperwork sitting on the kitchen table. “Was Dominic at the bakery when you were there?”

“Yes, Ruby was working, so of course he was with her.”

“I need to get these to him. I should have taken them by his office earlier, but I got sidetracked with chores.”

Winter is almost here and we need to be prepared. Being shifters, we can survive the coldest snow storms, but we can’t stay in our animal form all the time. We had a tree go down after a bad rain storm last week, and I decided to be the one to restock the woodshed.

“I think it’s great you’re going to go through with it,” Finn says, and as much as I hate to admit it, I like his approval.

I’d told him that I wanted to apply for the open positon at the sheriff’s department. They need a part-time patrol, and I thought it would be a good way to contribute to the town while giving myself purpose. I can only focus so much time on my brothers and if I’ll find a mate or not before I go crazy. I have to do something with my free time.

“I think I’ll take them up there real quick before they close.”

I walk out front and get in my truck, thinking it will be quicker if I drive. The road from our cabin is private, but it’s nice to be tucked away. Although we aren’t far from town, sometimes it feels more isolated than it really is. Which can be a good thing for shifters in their own small pack.

My brothers and I have banded tighter over the years, and we like living together. Our cabin is a good size, with room for all of us, and more if we grow. We never talked about what would happen if one of us got a mate first and how that would work. I think we’ve all been avoiding the subject so that we could pretend it wasn’t going to be a problem. But as I look at the cabin in the rearview mirror. I can’t help but think, I don’t ever want to leave it.

When I get to the bakery I open my truck door and feel the wind on my back. I look up at the sky and see the clouds darkening with what looks like snow.

I’m about to step inside, when Dominic and his family walk out at the same time.

“Hey Flint. Ruby’s closing up early; looks like we might get some snow,” Dom says, putting the kids in the car.

“Forest was just in a few minutes ago and got a slew of treats,” Ruby offers up.

“Just wanted to drop these off to you, Dom,” I say, and hand over the paperwork he’d asked for.

“Thanks, I appreciate that. I needed to make it official so we’d be good if anyone asked. I’ll give you a call in the morning and we can work out a schedule,” he says, and waves goodbye as the family loads up and pulls away.

As they leave, the wind direction changes and I catch a hint of something. My wolf pushes to the front of my mind and all my senses are alight. It’s as if in one instant I’ve been struck by lightning. My jaw aches, my hands throb, and there’s a chill down my spine. I’ve never felt anything like it before, and though the scent is faint, the whisper of what it means is ingrained in my DNA. There is no mistaking what my wolf knows to be true, and in this instant, everything has changed.

I’ve found my mate.

Chapter 5

Finn

I’m closing the shutters on the windows outside as I hear Flint’s truck approaching. It’s coming faster than usual, but it’s probably because of the bad storm. My wolf can sense this is going to be bad. It’s come faster than any of us thought, and we have to scramble to get ready.

“I put away all the tools and closed up the barn,” Forest says as he walks out onto the porch. “Damn, it’s really coming down. Good thing Flint is back already.”

The moment Forest says the words, Flint’s truck comes barreling around the bend and Forest and I are immediately on red alert. We both go down the driveway as Flint comes to a stop and jumps out.

“I scented her!” he yells, before we can ask him what’s going on. “My mate. I caught the scent. We need to shift now.”

“We?” I ask, feeling both excited for Flint and disappointed for myself. It’s a big moment for him, though, so I push my own jealousy to the side. I’ll be happy for my brother and deal with my own sadness later.

“You should be tracking her before the snow gets too deep,” Forest says, quickly looking beyond Flint at the heavy snowfall.

I stare at Flint, though he looks just as confused as we do. He pushes on. “I don’t know why, but my wolf made me come back home first. I had to come back and get you guys. Maybe he knows something I don’t, but I have this pull inside me that I need you to be there.”

I begin to protest, but Flint puts his hands up in a prayer motion in front of his chest. “Please, please just listen to me. For whatever reason, I need you to come with me. Please.”

“We’ll come,” I agree quickly, and there is relief on his face.

Above all, we are brothers and we will do anything to help one another. There is time to worry later about what this will mean to the three of us, but for now we should hurry.

“The roads are going to be bad,” Forest says, pulling off his hoodie and kicking off his boots. “We should all go as our wolves.”

“Agreed,” I say, as we make our way out back, the three of us stripping off.

When we all shift and are ready to go. Flint leads the way, since he’s the one who caught the scent. He’ll know best what he’s looking for, but I’m not sure how we’re going to be able to track it in this weather.

Giant flakes of snow the size of golf balls are coming down in heaps. It’s as if the clouds have fallen over our small town and we are being covered. From what I can see through the thick trees, there’s already three feet of snow on some of the main roads. We run through the woods, sticking to the trails as we approach the back of the town bakery. For a moment I’m confused, but Flint creeps around to the front of the building slowly, keeping his legs low.

I’m worried that he’s going to get caught in his wolf form, but the storm is bad enough that any remaining tourists have long gone.

Fo

rest and I stay back as he walks over to the parking area and does a few circles. His ears move and then he walks over to the small table and chairs under the awning of the shop. Those don’t have any snow on them and he moves over each one, scenting them.

My wolf is anxious, watching him with bated breath, when suddenly Flint’s body tenses and he takes off.

Forest is hot on his heels before I can blink, and then I’m bringing up the rear. I don’t know how Flint knows where to go in this weather, but he does. I feel a warmth in my chest as we run as one, somehow our wolves bonding even tighter.

It’s a strange sensation, but I try not to think about it, instead focusing on helping Flint. If his mate is out here, we’ll find her.

We wind through the trees of the forest, the snow making everything quiet. After a few milestones, Flint stops abruptly, and Forest and I come up beside him. We stare down a side road that’s off the main highway. It’s not traveled much because it’s a back way to Dominic and Ruby’s house. I don’t think they even use it because there’s a better entrance that’s closer to their house a mile or so down the road. But looking at this narrow road in the woods, there are fresh tire tracks that are rapidly being covered in snow. Night has almost fallen, so it makes it impossible to see all the way down the stretch of road. Forest nods in the direction of Dom and Ruby’s house, and we all follow.

Up ahead I hear the sounds of what might be someone crying. I stop and turn my ears, my wolf on high alert. My brothers do the same and we look around. I spot something on the side of the road in the distance—it might be a car. The bank of snow is huge, but it could be under it.

Slowly we all walk over to where the noise is coming from. As we get closer, I can see it’s a small car that’s gone off the road and into a ditch and has since been covered by snow. Having a white car in this weather is dangerous, and if we hadn’t been out here whoever it is may have remained stuck.